Heaven's Favor
by shi izen fumeiyo
Summary: What if Naruto had been raised in a loving environment? What if he had garnered God's favor? I know the summary sucks but please r&r. Pairings to be decided by poll.


Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I wouldn't be writing a fanfic on it. Heck, even the original part of this story is my friend's idea and I'm writing with it.

"Come on guys. It's just a quick trip through subspace. We won't make it on time if we don't go this way." shouted James as he stared down his five friends. All of them were looking as if he had just grown a second head. The reason behind this was due to the fact that traveling through subspace could be unpredictable. James had made longer trips than their current one but never with more than two people.

"You can't be serious James." Responded Jugiko as she gave her friend an incredulous look. When he nodded his head she sighed before saying, "Let me guess you're going to bug us until we give in right?" He just nodded in response. Jugiko let out another sigh before replying.

"Fine, you know what will happen if you screw up." She let the threat hang as James nervously scratched a spot below the left side of his rib cage.

"Don't worry I've already gone over the calculations ten times." This didn't make his friends any less nervous. Each stepped up to the tear James had formed and warily strode into it. The place was like a white twilight zone. Various objects from appliances to guns and ammunition floated around an area that otherwise resembled the matrix loading program.

They only received an, "Aw fuck" as a warning before they were suddenly pulled into a rift. A second later the six were dumped unceremoniously, into a grassy clearing. Almost instantly James jumped to his feet grabbing a stick and began a complex equation, oblivious to the fact that his friends were pointing various firearms at him.

"-ħ/2Φ 1/rsinΩ…" he muttered as he continued writing in the dirt much to his friend's ire. Soon the patch of dirt was covered with an equation that would give even Einstein a headache. Somewhere in the center was an empty bracket that James looked at for a moment before writing _Deus/Morningstar_. He shook his head slightly before looking back at his friends, completely ignoring the guns.

"Malachi your bore is dirty." He said calmly before turning back to the equation. Malachi began cleaning his gun while still managing to level another at James. After a few more moments of examining the equation for any possible flaws he looked both relieved and worried at the same time.

"I didn't screw up, but if my calculations are correct we're in anoth-fuck." James began to let loose with a string of curses that would have made a marine drill instructor blush. The others saw this and became worried because James usually didn't curse, unless he and Malachi got bored and started cursing at each other for fun. For James to be cursing this much things couldn't be good. After he calmed down he turned to his friends with apologetic smile.

"I have some not so good news and some bad news." The others with firearms still in hand gestured for him to go on. "First this wasn't my fault. The problem is that I can't get us back." At Jugiko's glare he nervously stuttered. "There are too many variables involved in Trans-dimensional travel. If one variable in one million is incorrect we all die."

"Ok so, if it isn't your fault, whose is it?" demanded Jugiko. James merely sighed before pointing at the sky and sign or pointing at the ground. The guns were slowly lowered, except for Malachi's, and the others sighed slightly. James, knowing what Malachi's gripe would be, pulled out a couple packages of sushi from subspace before handing them to Malachi. Malachi was soon found eating said sushi with gusto. 'You're forgiven' was implied soon after as the oversized handgun was no longer pointed at him.

"Crystal can you ask D to come down here?" Crystal didn't hesitate as her powers began to manifest. After a moment the air began to still and a bright light went through the forest. When the light dimmed there stood a woman of other worldly beauty. She had raven hair that reached midway down her back and eyes that slowly changed colors. She was built similar to a dancer or swimmer, tall and slender. She looked at them with a slightly amused expression on her face especially James, who was writing a new equation while rubbing one of his temples, and Malachi, who was still enthralled with his sushi.

"So James figured it out did he?" she asked a slight smirk on her lips. This was more of a statement than a question, after all God sees and knows all right? Yes, the woman in front of them was God.

"Yes he did. Now could you please explain why we are here?" Jugiko asked. "Couldn't this have waited?" she added in a slightly agitated tone. D just smiled slightly as if that answered the question. James, cursing the equation, had started beating his head against a nearby tree, causing cracks to form along said tree.

"Actually no, this couldn't wait." Looking at their expectant faces she continued. "The possible futures of this dimension worry me. They are centered on a village by the name of Konoha. Your job is to go and set up residence in the village. What you need to do from there I cannot tell you." The retinue sighed and nearly cursed how far divine intervention actually went.

"Oh by the way I took the liberty of exchanging some of your currency into Ryo, the local currency, and most of your equipment has been transferred into subspace for after you build your house." She handed James a paper with a series of numbers and conversions on it. His eyes widened slightly at the amount but that was his only reaction. D then pointed in the direction of Konoha before disappearing.

"How much damage?" asked Malachi looking at the paper James held.

"About sixty percent of our hard currency." replied James right before collapsing onto his knees. The others could only watch as he gripped his head, a silent scream on his lips. After a few minutes he seemed to regain control. He calmly stood up, walked behind a tree, and began retching. The reason behind his actions was obvious to the others. They knew that D must have just forced a lot of info into his already abused mind. After regaining his composure, he returned to the group.

"Well, it looks as if it will take about a week to get to the leaf village, and D has given me a bunch of info on culture, countries, hierarchy, and the like. She especially wants me to teach you all something she labeled as chakra manipulation and techniques." At their dumbfounded looks he let out a sigh. Spying several puddles near the group he made a quick hand seal.

"**Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu**," he whispered softly. Suddenly, ten clones were standing in front of him. He walked over to a clone and the two exchanged nods before he pulled out a knife and stabbed it. Instead of seeing blood pouring from the wound a slow trickle of water exited the clone before it burst like a water balloon. The retinue stared at the spectacle as James dispelled the remaining clones. Finally, Alex opened his mouth and asked the question that James had been expecting, but not from him.

"Wait, does this mean they only speak Japanese here?" James replied with a nod. He looked at his friends for a moment before saying something else.

"Guys, you might want to look in a mirror." Everyone looked at him for a moment before realizing what he was talking about. While the four humans of the group normally appeared to be in their thirties, their actual ages were around sixty, they now appeared to be twenty five. James had retained his scar that ran across his left eye (think Kakashi without the sharingan, but he had none of the grey in his hair). Jugiko and Malachi still looked to be in their late teens, their actual ages are in the mid-fifth century; after all, they were part-demons; half-wolf to be specific.

Their most notable change had been that the facial makeup appeared more human, even without Jugiko's illusion (they originally looked similar to Inuyasha) Malachi had black hair with three white streaks and Jugiko had raven colored hair. The group sighed and looked toward the sky.

"So, how about we get to that training?" Malachi asked and several groans were heard.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It took just over a week for them to make it to the village. During that time James had begun teaching his friends the art of these ninjas. Malachi had scoffed the idea of them truly being ninja. They each had several middle and high end techniques at their disposal. They even had the basics so that they could pass as shinobi. As they journeyed to the village Jugiko had told James that he would speak for the group since he had all the info in his brain. Another change that occurred was their clothing. It was more conservative than what they usually wore. The only exception to this was James who almost always wore conservative clothing.

As they approached the gate of Konoha each began to assess the village's defense and were only slightly impressed. This was mostly James examining the masonry and evaluating how hard it would be to break it. They warily approached the guards at the gate.

"State your name and purpose for coming to our village." The guard, a chuunin if James guessed correctly, stated in what would normally be considered an intimidating fashion. To the retinue it was rather funny. After all facing 40:1 odds and surviving made a threatening poster seem so…childish.

"We are here to request the Hokage make us citizens of Konoha." James replied calmly.

"And why do you think the Hokage would even consider it. What do you have to offer?" James looked over to Jugiko and saw her nod. Reaching into his combat subspace he drew a Buck™ knife and closed the distance between himself and the guard. The man nearly wet himself as he felt the killer intent James radiated along with the cold steel against his neck.

"Does that answer your question?" The man nodded slightly before calling out for someone to escort the group to the Hokage's office. Their escort turned out to be a young lady, and compared to the retinue members she is young, with Raven hair and…red eyes? The only other person he knew with those was Malachi. James also couldn't explain the sudden lurch in his stomach as he looked at her.

The young lady was introduced as Yuuhi Kurenai. She greeted them politely before guiding them to the Hokage tower. As they entered they thought 'poor-old-man' after seeing he was barely visible due to a pile of papers. James stood beside his friends and waited patiently to be acknowledged. After a few moments the Hokage lift his head to look at them.

"Ah, welcome to Konoha. May I ask why you are here?" James looked at the man in front of him gauging how he should proceed. The old man seemed to appreciate someone who didn't dance around the issue.

"Actually, we are here to request citizenship in Konoha." James stated carefully. Sarutobi looked at the group and smiled slightly.

"I would like to but I have to ask why, and what do you have to offer?" James sighed once before responding.

"We were displaced from our homes. I do not wish to say more." The Hokage's eyes flashed with sympathy. "As to what we can offer…I am a competent weapons smith and all of us are competent shinobi. I know that you would not trust a new member in your ranks without an escort and we are willing to submit to that." The Hokage looked at each member of the group looking for any hint at deception. After a few more moments he sat back in his chair and smiled.

"If this is truly what you want so be it. Since you are too old for the academy, you'll be tested on training field six. If you pass you'll be on probationary status until we are convinced you are not a threat. Here are the directions to the training field; your tests will occur at seven am. You will also need to divide into two groups to take this test. Oh and I need to give you the normal warning. Don't eat because you'll throw up." The retinue had suppressed a grimace at the word divide and the urge to laugh at the throw up comment.

James looked at him for a moment before asking, "I was just wondering if there was any land for sale in Konoha. After all we are going to need a place to live and paying rent is just foolish if you can buy." The Hokage looked and him for a few minutes before asking Kurenai to show them to the realtor's officer. There they managed to purchase a rather sizable, at least in town, stretch of land. It was a six acre plot located near one the forested areas of Konoha. After that they were guided to a hotel they could stay at until they had built their house. When they arrived James on impulse turned to Kurenai.

"Um Kurenai-san." she turned to him with a small smile. "I was wondering if perhaps, after the exam, you would like to have dinner with me." The other members of the retinue, with the exception of Jugiko whose eyes just widened, stumbled on the carpet before catching themselves. A thought flashed through their minds simultaneously.

'Did James just ask someone out?' James was the most logical person in their group. His brain thanks to the Magius powers he had received would put most super computers to shame. He had more doctorates than some could count earned through sheer knowledge. This James who was nervously asking a girl, who was 40 years younger than him, out, on a date, was unfathomable. Just when you thought that you knew someone they go out and surprise you.

"S-sure," Kurenai slowly stuttered with a light blush. They quickly set a time to meet and Kurenai departed as another guard arrived outside their rooms. The group met in one of the rooms and began to discuss who would be teamed with whom.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The retinue, after eating a hearty breakfast, made their way to the meeting spot, guided by their most recent guard. They had divided into the following groups: Jugiko, Crystal, and Alex and Malachi, James, and Domonique. They entered the grounds and found themselves facing The Hokage, Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Genma. Malachi stared at Gai's eyebrows with a rather dumbfounded expression.

"This will be a Genin and Chuunin exam. Your objectives are for you to discover. Pass one and you'll be a genin, pass both and you'll be a chuunin, fail and well do I really need to say?" Jugiko's team was set against Gai and Asuma. Malachi's team was led, by their guard, off of the training grounds until it was their turn.

Each of the two had something the team had to retrieve from them. The team was told that the one who did not retrieve one of the objects would not pass and miss lunch. The match started but instead of diving off to the side in an attempt to find cover they stood their ground.

"**Jishin Bunshin no Justu/Kori Bunshin no Justu.**" (Earth clone/Ice Clone) Alex and Crystal whispered simultaneously. The ground rippled and out of it rose ten duplicates of Alex. At the same time water condensed from the air molecules and formed eight see through duplicates of Crystal before freezing. Jugiko watched their two opponents, gauging them based on their reactions. Even Kakashi was dumbfounded when he saw the techniques used.

"**Kage Kakusu no Justu**," (Shadow Cloak) she said and a thick sheet of black began to cover the field. She enhanced the genjutsu with her own illusion powers before nodding to the other two. The menagerie of clones and their summoners tore into the blackness. The only thing that could be discerned from the black mass was sounds of flesh being hit and metal on metal.

Inside the black cloud Crystal and Alex alone with their many doppelgangers could see and move quite easily. The technique required a lot of chakra, concentration, and control. This was because it was a selective enemy genjutsu, it only blinded those labeled an enemy by the user. The two closed on their pray and drew their kunai. They quickly set about to beating the two senseless. Several minutes later after the sounds had ceased Jugiko lifted the shadow and the three spectators had to clench their jaws to keep them shut. Gai was the only one conscious out of the two Jounin and he was currently avoiding several clones' attacks.

They also noticed that the clones were all still there, well there were still eighteen of them anyway. Only two of the clones were unharmed. The others were in various states of disrepair, as in missing an arm or part of the body. This shocked the group because they had never seen any solid clones that could take a hit and still maintain its form.

Jugiko's lips twitched into and an almost smirk before she tore off at Gai. The clones gathered into a group on the side. He blocked the kick she sent his way but felt something get yanked off his belt. Then he felt a kick across his face thanks to his momentary lapse in concentration. This was followed by several more from the clones. Gai surprised them by standing even after the beating he took, but what was more surprising was when he stated.

"I concede the match." After that he picked up Asuma and carried him toward the spectators, where Kakashi woke him with a water jutsu to the face. He then began to do handstand push ups while facing the field. A few minutes later the second team arrived. They were given the same set of instructions as the others only this time the other team got to watch. Kakashi, after seeing techniques even he did not know carefully and how the first group employed them, raised his forehead protector unveiling his sharingan.

"Oh, so you _are_ Copy-nin Kakashi, copier of a thousand Justu or so it is said." Malachi stated as James had informed them the night before about the different doujustus (eye techniques) they could expect and about the copy nin. Kakashi merely nodded while Genma began to feel nervous though thanks to his training he didn't show it.

"I'm honored. After all, they say that you only reveal that to those you think a serious threat. Well it won't do you much good against us." He nodded toward James who grimaced. The five Konoha ninja looked confused until James formed a hand seal none of them had ever seen before.

"**Doujutsu Konran Saseru no Jutsu**." (Eye technique disruption) James stated firmly. His brown eyes faded into a milky white and he appeared to be staring at nothing. Kakashi, at first, believed that nothing had happened, but then realized that he did not have the techniques knowledge even if it was just a simple henge. He then watched as James drew the Katana that was strapped to his back. The blade itself was the most impressive part as it appeared to have two edges and an altered Psalms 23:4 written in Kanji form down the blade. He took up a defensive Kendo stance and waited for Malachi's next move. Malachi, meanwhile, bit his thumb and performed two quick hand seals and Domonique drew out two stiletto daggers.

"**Chi Bunshin no Jutsu**." (Blood Clones) The water that had been used for Crystal's ice clones gathered into see through duplicates of Malachi before turning blood red and then forming twenty exact duplicates of Malachi. The Hokage started at seeing this technique. It was, like the kage bunshin, a kinjutsu whose origin was located in the village hidden in the mists. The reason it was forbidden was that if a flaw occurred in the making the clones would try to form purely out of their creator's blood. No human could survive that happening thus the forbidden stamp on the technique. This was also why the hidden mist began using mizu bunshin even if they were fare weaker than the blood clones. It was safer that way.

Kakashi, noticing James's apparent blindness and the threat of his technique, figured he would be the best target. He sent a message in hand signs toward Genma. The message basically called for Genma to attack James while Kakashi distracted the others. Kakashi then formed a single seal.

"**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.**" Eighteen clones formed around Kakashi before dispersing and attacking Malachi and Domonique. They lead off with a barrage of Kage Shuriken (Shadow shuriken). Domonique put and end to that with a technique of her own.

"**Hono'o Hogo Sochi no Jutsu**." (Flame shield) red flames erupted out from her in a similar fashion to the Hyuuga Kaiten and took a handful of clones with it. Malachi's clones sprang into action after that, and soon Kakashi was again on his own facing fourteen opponents including the original and Domonique.

In the meantime James wondered what was happening. The technique did what Kakashi believed in that it blinded his eyes; however, it did not block his other sense, or his esoteric ones for that matter. He could feel the attack due to his powers but it was making him wonder. So far only the copy nin had attacked and not who he thought he would. James figured with the loss of his sharingan and his opponents apparent blindness would make him, in their minds at least, the best target. It was then he felt the second Jounin, Genma he thought, move toward him. James waited for the other to draw closer luring him into a false sense of security.

Genma let out a flurry of kunai and James carefully deflected all but one of the projectiles. Instead James caught the weapon and sent it back toward Genma along with one of his own hidden in its shadow. Genma jumped to the side only to feel a searing pain as a second blade hit him in the arm.

"All warfare is based on deception. My eyes may be blind but I have other ways of seeing." James stated. He then moved in with startling speed and proceeded to show the Jounin how much the flat of his blade could hurt.

Kakashi, meanwhile, was in a bit of a spot. To his credit he still had his bell. He was surrounded by eight clones, their creator, and Domonique who unleashed yet another fire attack at him.

"**Katon: Housenka no Jutsu.**" (Flame Type: Mythical Fire Flower) Several balls of fire began to pelt him as Malachi went in to make his move. Increasing the flow of chakra to his legs he became little more than a blur heading in Kakashi's direction. He stopped behind Kakashi, yanked the bell from his belt, and then kicked him toward a clone that finished the fight with a thrust kick to the stomach. They went to help James only to find him leaning against a tree holding the piece of grass Genma always had in his mouth with a blank look on his none seeing eyes. At the sound of approaching feet he turned his head toward the noise. Sensing who it was he smiled as his eyes returned to their normal color.

He took a step toward the two only to stumble before they caught him. The jutsu had been developed by James during their weeks travel to Konoha. It had one major drawback due to the fact that it blinded the user. The blindness lasted during the techniques use and for several minutes after. This was why only James, Jugiko and Malachi were the only ones allowed by the group to use it. They had the easiest time coping with temporary blindness. The two led carefully led him around obstacles toward the Hokage while Gai and Asuma grabbed the unconscious Jounins.

When they arrived Crystal used a healing jutsu to speed up the eyes' recovery process. After a few moments James' eyesight was back and they turned to face the Hokage.

Sarutobi smiled slightly before saying, "Congratulations you all pass both exams. I can tell you all figured out the purpose of the genin exam, and how well you worked together as well as the level of jutsu's you employed proves you have what it takes to be chuunin." He moved behind a tree, picking up an object once he got to it. He slowly moved toward the group and presented a hitai-ate and vest to each. They were now officially Konoha shinobi.

…

One month had passed since the retinue had arrived at those gates they now protected. They were still observed but they didn't blame the Hokage for being cautious. They had gone on a handful of missions as a set of teams. James and Kurenai had become an item and well, James was constantly teased by his friends. He didn't mind the teasing as long as it didn't go to far. He was still startled that he had fallen for someone one a third his age. The teasing had ended when both Alex and Domonique had started dating someone from the village.

Alex was dating some girl named Anko. About the only thing he knew about her was that she freaked him out. Domonique was secretly dating a girl by the name of Nikko Inuzuka. The reason for the secrecy was that homosexuality was about as accepted there as it was in the nineteen fifties back home. James was currently walking through the market district of Konoha. He was well aware of his shadow and was glad it wasn't Gai this time. As he passed by a shop he heard something disturbing.

"Get out of my shop Demon." James grew angry as he saw that instead of a demon, or even an adult, a child of no more than five was thrown bodily from the shop. The kid stood wiped a few tears away and ran in the direction of the Hokage monument. James knew the kids story do to his telepathic powers but he did not sense even an ounce of malice inside the kid just sadness and determination.

His blood began to boil and even his friends would have backed away from the look of anger on his face. It wasn't often he got angry but god have mercy on who raised his ire for he would have none. James took in a deep breath before putting on a mask of calm and then walked into the shop. Inside the shop he saw only a few people plus the owner.

"Who the FUCK threw that child into the streets?" his voice was barely above a whisper but killing intent rolled off of him in waves. The shoppers in the store soiled themselves for they lacked the conditioning to resist the fear they were feeling. The shop keeper, a former shinobi, was able to bare it without showing much fear.

"What of it?" he replied trying to sound confident. Suddenly, the killing intent doubled and James whispered one word.

"Out." The shoppers didn't need to be told twice as they nearly took the door off its hinges trying to escape. He then walked over to the shop keeper and began to show him the error of his ways. (The following scene was too violent to write; please use your imaginations)

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ten minutes later James stepped out of the store yawning slightly as he dusted off his hands. After a moment Kakashi appeared and gave James an eye smile. Normally, beating up a civilian in his shop would have gotten James in a serious mess, but Kakashi had seen what had led up to it and shrugged it off. After all, beating up a kid too young to defend himself was far worse on his trash list.

"Kakashi, did you happen to see where the kid ran off to?" Kakashi, a pensive look on his face, thought about it.

"I've heard from Hokage-sama, that the kid likes the view from on top of the Yondaime's head." James' empathic senses detected the twinge of sorrow from the copy ninja. He knew that Kakashi had been the fourth's student and what became of his team and sensei. He nodded his thanks and tore off in the direction of the Hokage monument. Kakashi merely sighed before following.

When James approached the Yondaime's head he noticed that the kid's back was to him. He could tell even from a distance that the kid was talking to himself. His empathic senses also told him that the kid was trying to keep himself from crying. He knew that loneliness because he had seen worse thanks to his powers. If you can imagine he had horrible memories from it was like to be branded, to living in an institution, and even a rape toy. Believe it or not that was just memories from his friends.

"I'll show them! I'll become Hokage and get everyone to acknowledge me!" James smiled when he heard the declaration made by the kid. The kid had spirit and determination, or was bullheaded. Either way this intrigued James and he slowly approached. When he was about fifteen feet away the kid quickly turned to face him.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE!" Naruto shouted while James winced. 'Damn this kid can be loud.'

"I saw what happened at the shop." James replied and watched the kid shrink back.

"You gonna beat me up too?" Naruto's response was more a statement than a question.

"No kid I don't plan on beating you up. Although that baka at the shop is wishing he hadn't." At Naruto's questioning look he continued. "I hate seeing people treat others like crap; especially people who abuse children. I showed him the error of his ways. As in I decided to beat him within an inch of his life." Naruto looked at him with an astonished expression on his face. He had never met anyone other than the Hokage who hadn't hated him on sight. It was then he was struck by an idea.

"Hey kid, do you like Okonomiyaki?" Naruto looked at him for a moment before replying.

"Don't know, never tried it. Is it anything like ramen?" James looked at the kid for a moment longer before realizing what was hidden in that statement. The kid, from what he had been told lived on his own with very little money being provided for him to live on.

"Well no, not really unless you count the yakisoba noodles as being ramen-like. Anyway, I wanted to know if you would like to join me and my family for dinner." At the kid's skeptical look he added. "You don't have to worry about this being a trick as the Hokage will be there." It didn't take long for Naruto to agree after that statement. The two went back to the market so James could buy the supplies he needed for the dinner that night.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Naruto found out that the reason the Hokage would be at the retinue's house for dinner was to celebrate the house's completion. They had to go about building the thing slowly due to how the villagers might react to their powers. However it was amazing what an army of earth clones could do. The size and complexity of the building was the reason it took so long. After all, the house had three stories a lot of bedrooms and a basement bigger than the house in terms of length and width.

Naruto's jaw was sitting on the floor as he saw the house. He had never seen one this large before. James guided him inside toward the kitchen where they dropped the groceries and then he led Naruto to the living room. Inside the living room they found the Hokage, Jugiko, Malachi, Domonique, Nikko, Alex, Anko, Crystal and Kurenai sitting in the room chatting. James saw Gai and Kakashi having another of their "duels," a game of fifty-two pick up.

"Hey everyone, we have another guest I'd like you to meet." James interjected as Gai was about to go off on a rant about beating his eternal rival. They all turned to James and saw an amusing sight before them. They saw a small child with blonde hair trying to hide behind his leg and James trying to dislodge said child from said leg. After a minute of tugging James managed to pull the kid loose and placed the blonde in front of him.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto. Naruto From your left is Kakashi, Gai, Jugiko, Malachi, Domonique, Nikko, Alex, Anko, Crystal, Kurenai-chan, and you already know Hokage-sama." As the Naruto's name was said many expressions were seen from those present. The retinue members, not knowing much about Naruto, smiled slightly at the kid or, like Anko, looked at him indifferently. The Hokage smiled slightly glad the kid had found someone, besides himself of course, who did look at him and only saw the Kyuubi.

Nikko looked at the kid with a small amount of contempt but stayed silent. Kakashi and Gai smiled slightly and broadly respectively. Kurenai looked at Naruto with a small bit of fear but after looking at James she knew the kid couldn't be all bad. Besides if the kid really was the Kyuubi, why was the village still standing?

'I need to ask you all something.' James sent telepathically to his friends. When he felt each of them acknowledge his message he continued. 'The kid's life has been poor at best. He has no one to care for him and the contempt of most of the village.' His friends figuring out where this was going sighed internally.

'I wanted to know if you all would mind if I adopted him.' Suppressing another sigh they sent back their consent. Leaving the kid to get to know everybody James turned to the Hokage.

"Sarutobi-san may I speak to you in the kitchen?" The Hokage looked at him for a moment before following him into the kitchen. Once inside James donned a black apron and began preparing the food to be cooked. He had already found out what each wanted on their okonomiyaki and began to pull out the necessary ingredients. As he began to mix the batter he turned to face the Hokage with a serious expression.

"Sarutobi-san I need to know something." When the old man nodded he went on. "Why is it that Naruto has no one but an overworked Hokage willing to look after him?" Sarutobi nearly winced at James' sharp tone.

"I'm sorry James but I cannot reveal that." James nodded slightly before asking the something that shook the Hokage to the core.

"Is it because of Kyuubi no Kitsune?" The Hokage blanched as James continued to mix the batter. Before the Hokage could voice his question James pressed on. "It was rather easy to put two-and-two together. After all the Kyuubi attacked Konoha around when Naruto was born and people keep calling the kid a demon." James began going over the information D had uploaded to his brain and came across something.

"Is he a Jinchuuriki?" James asked scaring the Hokage at just how fast he put the pieces of the puzzle together. Admitting defeat the Hokage merely nodded in response.

"How did someone manage to seal the Kyuubi away?" James whispered softly.

"The Yondaime made a contract with the Death god to seal the Kyuubi inside Naruto." stated Sarutobi. "He gave up his life with the belief that Naruto would be hailed as a hero for he keeps this village safe by keeping the fox sealed." James, currently grilling the pizza like pancakes, nodded but also thought that the Yondaime's faith was misplaced. Creating a Kage Bunshin to work on the grill, he turned to face the Hokage. The Hokage looked at the clone and shook his head. This group never ceased in surprising him.

"Sarutobi-san, I know that my friends and I are still under watch but I was hoping you would grant me a request." He waited until he saw the Hokage nod. "Today I saw Naruto thrown, literally, out of a store. I've seen what the kid is going through and I don't want him to have to bare it alone. I would, with your permission, like to adopt Naruto into my family." The old man stared at James. He had met very few people will to take Naruto in after they knew who he housed. This caused him to get suspicious until he looked at his friend again. During the entire conversation he had not detected any indications of hostile intent or deception. A smile formed on his wizened features as he spoke.

"You have my permission but you must get Naruto's. If he says yes then I will have the proper _paperwork _drawn up tomorrow." Both James and the Hokage winced at the word.

"Would you consider taking on an assistant Sarutobi-san?" The Hokage looked at him questioningly. "As much as I don't like the work I am good with paperwork and could assist you…once our probationary status is lifted of course." Sarutobi looked at the 'young' man in front of him as if judging his abilities and then remembered that even some of his friends reports almost looked as if they had been written or at least proofread by him.

"Actually, I would like that very much. I may even get to go out and check on the village rather than reading about it." They both shared a small chuckle at that. Their conversation varied from there as James spoke while helping his clone cook.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

The dinner went well and Nikko's scowl slowly disappeared as she watched Naruto interact with the group. She had even laughed when Naruto called Gai fuzzy eyebrows as he left. James was glad to see that the others were beginning to accept Naruto. The group plus the Hokage and Naruto watched as each of the guests departed. Soon only Kurenai was still at the house and James asked her to stay as what he was about to ask Naruto would have an impact on her as well. When he had everyone's attention James knelt down beside Naruto.

"Naruto I going to ask you a question and I want you to think really hard before you give me an answer, ok?" Naruto nodded. "How would you feel about living here instead of on your own?" Naruto sat there puzzling out James' question and even Kurenai thought the expression was beyond cute.

"Why?" Naruto asked after a moment. "Why are you asking me this? Why do you care?" James looked at the kid with a sad smile.

"I care because I know what it feels like to be alone. I never knew my father and because of my uncle's profession I had few friends. I'm asking you this because I've asked the Hokage about adopting you as my son. It is your decision though, so what do you say?" The retinue looked a little surprised at James' words to Naruto. He may not know the same loneliness as Naruto from his own experience, but due to memories from them he knew what it felt like. Kurenai looked at Naruto and a small smile played across her face as she watched his face begin to split into a wide smile.

"When can I move in…'Tousan?" James' smile soon matched Naruto's much to everyone's surprise.

"How about I show you your room?"

To be continued…

(A/N): This story is based on one my friend is currently working on called Magius. You might be able to find an older copy of the story on fiction press but don't take my word for it. For clarification each of the characters controls a domain or domains with their powers.

Jugiko Shienjeru, Magius (Leader) Illusionist and Steel Mage.

Malachi Shienjeru, Magier (Second) Necromancer.

James Richards, mage of the mind. Powers include clairvoyance, telepathy, and telekinesis.

Alex Gonzales, Nature and Lightning Mage

Domonique Antonio, Pyro Mage

Crystal Thakstes, Ice and Holy Mage

Who should Naruto be paired with. My options are:

Sakura

Tenten

Ino

Multi (top two girls)

This fic will not be a Naruto/Hinata or Sasuke/Sakura fic. In my opinion these two matches have become cliché and rather boring to read. Mind you, if you don't vote don't complain and I won't be continuing this story if I don't have a direction to go in. Please review it!


End file.
